Second Chances
by Laminamara
Summary: Sudden tragedy strikes and Max is quite unprepared. Will Alec be able to help her pick up the pieces? Is she going to appreciate the effort, or dismiss it like she's always done? Set after the novel 'After the dark'.
1. Chapter 1

**Second Chances - Chapter 1**

_Disclaimer: I own nothing, I'm just borrowing the characters of Dark Angel to have some fun with them. _

_A.N.: This story is set after the series and both of the books. I would say about two months after 'After the dark'. Have fun. :) _

"What the hell was that in there?" Max looked at Alec walking beside her, a relaxed and happy expression on his face. He returned her gaze, his green eyes sparkling.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I'm talking about you, snogging a girl you only just met five minutes before. And, since it's apparently not enough that you're slobbering all over her, that you have to do it in front of all of us." She gave a small shudder as the disgusting image crossed her mind again.

"Come on, Maxie. It's not my fault girls find me irresistible."

Max rolled her eyes, but couldn't help the small smile that appeared on her lips. "Yeah, that's right, cause you're Gods gift to women."

Alec slapped her on the shoulder and smirked, ignoring her sarcasm. "I knew you would come around one day and see the truth."

They had just come out of the Crash and were on their way to Terminal City. After a whole evening of seeing Sketchy try, and fail for that matter, to hook up with one girl after the other and Alec actually _hooking_ up with them, she was eager to get back to the normality of TC. Well, the relative normality if you could even call it that. More than anything though she just wished to be in Logan's arms, forgetting the world around her, even if just for a little while. As if he had read her mind, Alec said: "Hey, where's Logan tonight anyway? Since the virus's gone I've hardly seen you guys separated from each other. Guess there's a lot to make up for, huh?" He winked and she hit his shoulder, hard.

"Shut up. How often do I have to tell you that it's none of your business what Logan and I do in our spare time?"

"So you are doing it, right? Was about time! I should have known, you're so much more relaxed these days." She hit him again, glaring at him. "Or maybe not." Alec shot her a hurt look, rubbing his arm. "God, you really have to learn to go easy on a guy or…wait, does Logan dig this hard chick routine?" He raised an eyebrow, contemplating, then shrugged. "I would have never taken him for the masochistic kind, but when I actually think about it I can see how…" He was interrupted by a frustrated outcry from Max.

"I swear, it's like talking to a frigging child! Do you never know when to shut up? If you mention Logan one more time, I will…" A shot rang out and she and Alec instantly dove for cover when a second shot followed. "What the…" Max peeked around the garbage container which hid them from view and frantically searched for the shooter. Her enhanced vision penetrated the dark and she saw the gunman at the corner at the end of the street.

She whirled around to Alec, saying: "Come on smartass, we've gotta…" but stopped in mid-sentence when she saw the look on his face. He was white as a sheet and stared at something dark and sticky on his fingers.

"I've been hit," he stated, his eyes transfixed on his hands.

"Where?" Max asked, but her eyes had already landed on his stomach where his shirt became redder with blood by the second. Her heart seemed to stop for a moment before she grabbed him and pushed him into a sitting position. Taking his hands, she pressed them down onto the wound. "Stay here and don't move."

"Max," his voice sounded weak and her expression softened when their eyes met. "Believe me, I'm not going anywhere."

She held his hands in place for a moment longer, willing the blood flow to stop, when she sensed a presence behind her. Quick as a whirlwind she turned and kicked at the gun that was aimed at them. Their attacker stumbled as the weapon flew from his grip and to the ground. Before he could make a move for it, she had kicked him in the stomach and he hit the wall behind him. She picked up the gun and took a good look at the man. He was of medium height, quite unremarkable looking, and apparently extremely dumb, because he started grinning when his gaze fell on Alec. She was sure the man had a death wish.

"I see at least one of you got what he deserved. But don't worry, you won't have to wait long for following where he's going."

"He's not going anywhere," she hissed, her face full of contempt, but her chest tightened in fear of what his words suggested. Alec was _not_ going to die. "And neither are you, you son of a bitch." With that she aimed a well-placed kick at his head and he slumped to the ground, unconscious. Without sparing him another moment of attention she crouched down beside Alec. He had gone even paler and his eyes were half closed when he looked at her.

"Where's your cell?" Max said, trying to hide her panic at the amount of blood he was covered in.

"Right pocket."

She snatched his phone and called an ambulance as well as the police, never taking her eyes off him. Her hands trembled when she closed the phone and put it away. "They will be here soon." She took her sweater off, crumpled it into a ball and pressed it against the wound.

Alec watched her for a moment before whispering: "You're not concerned about me, are you Max? Never thought I'd live to see the day." His voice was quiet, but she couldn't miss the teasing in it.

She looked up and even though he was smiling, detected the slightest hint of real surprise in his eyes. "Shut up," she answered, but it was said gently. Alec chuckled and, leaning his head against the container, closed his eyes. "Hey, you have to stay awake." Max slapped him lightly on the cheek. "Don't fall asleep."

"I'm tired," he mumbled.

"I don't care if you're tired," she snapped, hoping to sound harsh. She grabbed his chin and turned his face to her. "Look at me."

His eyes snapped open and she was greeted by the beautiful green she had never noticed before, now dull and glazed over. "I'll kick your ass, Alec, you hear me? I'll kick your ass like never before if you don't stay with me, I mean it!" Her heart was beating hard in her chest and relief washed over her when she heard sirens in the distance.

"You're all talk, Max." His eyes had fallen shut again. "You always forgive me everything and you know it." After that he didn't open them again.

Max stared at his still form and couldn't shake the feeling that this was it; that she had lost another one of her brothers. Alec's life was just slipping through her fingers and she couldn't do anything about it. The thought terrified her more than she wanted to admit. Suddenly she heard the approach of a vehicle, sirens blaring loudly in the quiet night. Jumping out of their hideaway, she saw that it was the ambulance and signalled them to a stop. Two paramedics jumped out of the car. She noticed the initial hesitation when they recognized who she was, but they never faltered in their step for which she was grateful.

"Over there," she said, pointing to Alec. "He was shot, about fifteen minutes ago." She tried to keep her voice as steady as possible as she watched them putting him on a stretcher and carrying him to the ambulance.

Walking over to their attacker, Max kicked him in the face again. That should do until the police arrived. She didn't have anything to bind him with, but she sure as hell wasn't going to leave Alec alone to wait for the cops.

Without a word she jumped into the back of the ambulance. It never occurred to her to ask for permission, they probably knew better than to argue with her. She was sure they had recognized Alec by now as well, he was the first transgenic alderman of Seattle after all, and she didn't even want to think about how fast this news would make the headlines. She just hoped it wouldn't be in the form of an obituary.

A voice penetrated her thoughts and her eyes focused on the worried face of the paramedic. "Miss," he sounded a bit afraid, "I have no experience with transgenics, but…he needs a blood transfusion, otherwise he's gonna die. Should we take normal blood or…" He looked suggestively at her arm.

Max hadn't even noticed that the car was already driving at full speed. "No, take my blood." She didn't want to risk anything, not now. Rolling up her sleeve, she waited while the paramedic prepared the transfusion. A moment later she watched her blood pumping out of her vein.

Her gaze wandered over to Alec. She wasn't even hearing the words that were spoken while the two men worked on him, all she saw was his pale face, his mouth shut for once, and never before had she more wished to hear his constant, annoying yapping.

A thought struck her and she pulled out the cell she had taken from Alec earlier. She quickly dialled Logan's number. He answered after the second ring, his voice distracted. "What is it, Alec?"

"It's me." Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath.

"Max? What's up? What's that noise in the background?" Hearing his voice succeeded in calming her down a bit.

"Alec's been shot, you have to meet me at the hospital, Logan."

"Shot, how? Is it bad?"

"It's bad."

"I'm on my way." With that he hung up. Max sighed and stared at the phone. She wished they had never left Terminal City to go out for a stupid drink.

_A.N.: I hope you liked the first chapter. Reviews are greatly appreciated and encourage me to write the second one quickly. ;) _


	2. Chapter 2

**Second Chances – Chapter 2**

_Disclaimer: I own nothing, I__'m just borrowing the characters of Dark Angel to have some fun with them. _

Max was staring at the huge doors behind which the doctors had vanished with Alec. It seemed like an eternity since they had fallen closed with a heavy thud. She looked up when she heard quick footsteps approaching. Her heart jumped when she saw it was Logan; she couldn't stand a minute longer of just waiting, all alone with nothing but her thoughts to keep her company.

Standing up, she stepped into his arms without a word; his warm embrace was a comfort she was thankful for. Logan stroked her hair out of her face and met her eyes. "What happened?" he asked.

Max took his hand and pulled him down on the chair beside hers. "We were just heading home when we were shot at by some random guy. He basically came out of nowhere. Clemente called and told me they have him in custody right now."

Her brown eyes held worry and anger at the same time. She shook her head and averted her gaze. "We should have never been out like that, I can't believe how stupid I was! There are so many transgenic haters still around, we should have been more careful. How could I let this happen?" Her expression was desperate when she faced him. "I'm their leader, I'm supposed to take care of them, all of them, but I never even thought about it! We were just walking, bickering, you know how Alec can get on my nerves…" She stopped and blinked.

"Logan, I…" Unshed tears glistened in her eyes and he took her hand, gently stroking her fingers. "I never thought I'd say this, but I can't lose him. I've lost too many already, I just can't."

"He'll be alright," he said softly. "It's Alec, Max. He'll be alright."

But she looked doubtful. "The doctor said he has internal bleeding. They're just operating on him."

"How long have they been gone?" His blue eyes travelled over to the door that said 'Do not enter, hospital staff only'.

"Fifteen minutes maybe, I'm not sure."

"Well, there's one thing I'm sure of. Our favourite pain-in-the-ass is not going to leave like this. He'll make it."

Max gave him a weak smile. "This reassuring thing isn't really working, but I'm grateful you're trying."

"That's what I'm here for," he replied, giving her a smile in return. Their hands clasped together, they waited in silence for the news, good or bad, that were inevitably to come.

* * *

Max had no idea how long they had waited when the doctor came back. The only thing she knew was that she was standing all of a sudden, gripping Logan's hand so tightly he winced. "How is he?"

"He will be fine once he's recovered from the severe blood loss. Thanks to you he survived it, a moment later and it could have been too late. Luckily none of the major organs were damaged by the bullet, so we were able to stop the internal bleeding without too many problems. We transferred him to the recovery room; if you want you can wait there for him to wake up. It may take a while though."

The doctor looked expectantly at her. Max had the impression that an invisible hand had just stopped from crushing her chest; it was easier to breathe. But now that she knew he was going to be alright, another matter came to her attention.

"Is it ok if I make a call first?" she asked. "It's important." The doctor's brow creased into a frown, but he nodded curtly. Max pulled out Alec's cell as Logan gave her a curious glance. "What is it, Max?"

"I need to call Clemente, ask him if they got anything out of that bastard who shot at us." She flipped the phone open and cursed. "Damn, the battery died. Can I use yours?"

"Sure." He patted his pockets for a moment before saying: "I left it in the car. I'll go get it and make the call. You just go on and check on Alec, I'll join you in a few minutes."

Max gave him a brilliant smile. "Thanks." She pressed a quick kiss on his lips before vanishing after the doctor.

* * *

The doctor left her standing in front of Alec's room and she stood there for a moment, looking at his still form on the bed. He looked small and out of place in the white, sterile room. Somehow she always attributed colour to Alec.

Now that the first shock was over, she suddenly felt strange about going inside. Alec and she had never been that close, well they were close in a somehow not-close way if that made any sense, so that she was unfamiliar with feeling this worried about him.

No matter how often she had bailed his ass out of a dilemma he had gotten himself into, deep down she had always known he could take care of himself. It had been different with Joshua whom she had always felt she needed to protect, but not Alec. He was the guy on the side with the insightful comments she never wanted to hear. The guy who was a pain in her ass she strangely didn't want to miss.

Max sighed and quietly opened the door; she hated hospitals. The last time she had been in one, someone had tried to kill her. Not a good memory. Pulling a chair to Alec's bedside, she sat down. "Hey," she whispered, feeling stupid talking to him. She was not used to one-sided conversations with Alec, usually it was he who did the talking. What was she supposed to say? She didn't know and so she just studied his face.

He had regained some of his colour, but there were still dark shadows under his eyes. He resembled Ben so much at that moment, she had to push the image of his dead body to the back of her mind.

She stared at Alec and the longer she did, the more she got the feeling that she had never really looked at him before. Had never bothered to look.

But now…how could two people look so alike and yet at the same time look so different? She was sure that if she were to see them both together, she would spot the difference from a mile away.

An image of Alec smiling at her flashed before her eyes. It was just something in his expression that took Ben's features and changed them into something more…bright. Maybe that was the word.

Perhaps it was his love for life that shone through everything he did. Ben had never had that.

Max leaned back in her chair and realized with a pang that maybe that was it, one of the reasons why Alec was able to annoy her to no end.

The fact that he could handle everything; even when something brought him down, he got to his feet again. She had seen it happen herself more than once. Whereas Ben hadn't had the strength to cope with the world and it had dragged him down. It was why he had to die.

Max pulled a face. Was she really such a bitch that she begrudged Alec something his brother hadn't had? After all it wasn't Alec's fault Ben hadn't been able to deal.

Another reason of course was that Alec just loved to bug and tease her mercilessly to the point where she just snapped. She knew it entertained him.

A fond smile crossed her features. "You better wake up, Alec, so that I can kick your ass for scaring me like this," she murmured.

* * *

Logan stepped out into the car park beneath the hospital. For a moment he stood in complete darkness before the automatic lights switched on. Looking around, he spotted his car in the distance and sighed as he started heading towards it.

He was glad Alec was alright. Despite of all the things that had happened in the past, he was quite fond of the guy. It was nice to see Max show some concern for him, he deserved to be treated with something other than the indifference she normally showed him.

He smiled. Sometimes Alec reminded him of the way Max had been when he first met her. The both of them really weren't that different. Once he had felt threatened by that, but not anymore.

Fumbling in his pockets for the car keys, he stopped dead in his tracks when a cold voice penetrated the air. "Don't move."

He did so nonetheless and turned around to stare right at a gun pointed at him. It was held by a shabby guy, tall but skinny, with an unshaven face. His black eyes blazed with undisguised hatred. "You're the guy who helped them, I saw you on tv."

"Take it easy there with the gun. I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I'm talking about the transgenics," he spat. "Those fucking mutants walking around! It's disgusting to see a human in league with these freaks! I followed you here, you know. My partner shot one of your little friends."

Logan swallowed hard at this. This guy was more dangerous than he had thought, he had to be careful.

"Did he die sweetly, the bastard, did the life slowly and painfully run out of him?" His grin showed black and rotten teeth.

"Yes, he's dead. He died on the operating table half an hour ago." He couldn't put him on Alec's trail again. Looking around out of the corner of his eye, he saw that nobody was in sight anywhere. A silent curse slipped from his lips. He needed to distract the guy somehow to make a move. "Listen, you got what you wanted, he's dead, finished, so why don't you just leave and we go our separate ways?"

"Because I can't let you go, you're working with them." He cocked his head to the side and the ugly grin appeared again. "I guess I have to kill you."

Logan's eyes widened. "I'm not a transgenic."

"I don't care at all." In that instant, Logan saw something in the man's eyes and he knew it was now or never. He either attacked or he'd be dead. Jumping forward as fast as he could, he tried to grab the man's arm, but it was too late. A shot rang out and Logan slumped to the ground.

The man didn't hesitate for a second and started running toward the exit, never looking back.

Left was only Logan, a bullet hole in his forehead, blood spreading around him on the cold concrete floor, his unseeing eyes wide open.

* * *

Max looked at her watch impatiently. Where the hell was Logan? He had already been gone for half an hour, since when did it take him so long to make a simple phone call? Her gaze wandered over to Alec, who was still fast asleep and didn't seem as if he was about to wake up anytime soon, and she pushed her chair back with determination. "I'll be back soon."

She hurried down the corridor and took the steps down to the car park two at a time. A horrible feeling told her something was wrong, and most of the time, her instinct was spot on. She just hoped that this was not one of those times.

Max pushed open the door to the parking lot and looked frantically around, her enhanced eyesight taking in every detail. Then she saw him lying on the ground at the other end of the building. "Logan!" she called, her voice trembling, as she ran towards him, her feet barely touching the ground.

One step away from him she stopped abruptly, frozen in motion. She distantly registered the pool of blood, the bullet hole, but all her attention was on his eyes. The beautiful blue eyes that brightened her every day, that were the sight she loved most in the world; all the life had gone out of them. They stared at her, glassy and lifeless.

A tremor ran through her body, but she still couldn't move. Then all of a sudden, she dropped to her knees and gripped his shoulder. "Logan," she whispered and with shaking fingers touched his cheek. He felt so cold. "Don't do this to me." Her heart felt as if it had just been ripped to shreds. "You can't leave me."

She spent the next hour in a daze; the cops came, the mortician took Logan away, they asked her questions, but it all felt far, far away. As if she wasn't even really there.

When they were gone, Max went back to Alec's room and sat down on the bed. He still looked so peaceful, she thought. As if nothing in the world could ever disturb him. Her eyes prickled and her chest tightened, making it hard for her to breathe. She grabbed Alec's hand and pressed it with everything she had, but still…it was no use.

The tears were coming and once they had spilled over, she wasn't able to stop.

_A.N.: __So, Alec getting shot wasn't the tragedy after all. I hope I was able to shock you people. :) I have to admit, killing off Logan was harder than I imagined, but it had to be done. As with all my fanfictions, I like to keep real to the series and the characters (and I hope I manage to) and as I see it, there was no way Max would ever consider Alec in any romantic way if Logan was still there, as in alive, so he had to go. I don't like Logan bashing because it doesn't feel real to me, Max and his' love is pretty strong, even if it never interested me that much, so in my opinion this was the only way out. _

_As always, reviews are greatly appreciated. I hope you liked the chapter. _


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